Tag: does

United States

Stats

7 Startling Facts: An Up Close Look at Church Attendance in America By Kelly Shattuck – December 14, 2017 churchleaders.com“.. Numbers from actual counts of people in Orthodox Christian churches (Catholic, mainline and evangelical) show that in 2004, 17.7 percent of the population attended a Christian church on any given weekend.”..”

Declining Church Attendance: Absurd Religion – CBN.com – YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zNL3ITV-Zo“The Christian Broadcasting Network
Published on Oct 28, 2008
Steve Gray passionately wants church people to change what he calls “absurd religion” into the authentic presence of God. Gray addresses empty pews and looks at what kind of church God would attend.

The Christian Broadcasting Network
..”

Church Decline Factors?

6 Things Pastors Do To Kill Church Growthhttps://youtu.be/9fapqV8FyDc
Sal: great tip…get folks to do their #Godgivengift calling and destiny. Also, the last tip-stop doing it all yourself!

U.S. borders are a lot more secure under Trump: Border Patrol Union Presidenthttps://youtu.be/cvALg6qElmM
Fox Business
Published on Sep 21, 2017

10 Reasons The US Needs Better Border Security By Dave Anderson – May 25, 2016 listland.com“…The real concern that many have is that unregulated and illegal immigration will give rise to social problems, threatening jobs, overwhelming the amenity provision in border areas and threatening the traditional American way of life…

Most countries regulate who may enter and why, whether as short term visitors or to live and work so there is no shame in the US doing likewise. Indeed as a nation the US has very strict entry visa requirements. Nevertheless voters, particularly in border states, concerns continue to express concerns about the policies used to secure the border and the funding given to finance enforcement. The debate tends to polarize into two separate camps with typical Republican voters arguing that more funding needs to be diverted to secure the borders. Meanwhile Democrats tend to espouse the idea that immigration is generally a positive and want to make it easier for illegals to legalize their status reflecting the de-facto reality of life on the ground.

We believe that border security should be viewed as a priority and furthermore 71% of Americans agree with us. Here are 10 of the reasons we believe better border security is vital for America…”

Solutions for America: Developing a Strong Border and Immigration Policy August 17, 2010 4 min read heritage.org“..For far too long, the United States has failed to enforce its immigration laws. Its visa system does not adequately serve the needs of the economy, legal immigrants, or U.S. citizens. Cartel violence and continued illegal immigration along the U.S. southern border have many Americans concerned. Americans are demanding a border and immigration policy that will keep the U.S. free, safe, and prosperous—not an amnesty that simply exacerbates the problem.

Border Violence on the Rise, Illegal Immigration Continues. The U.S. has made progress on securing the border, but the border is still not secure. Drug cartels have seized control of major parts of Mexico’s northern border—with more than 6,000 murders in 2008 from drug cartel violence. The threat of spillover violence in the U.S., as well as continued illegal immigration, remains a significant problem. …”

“..A man in the U.S. illegally has been charged with murder in the death of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts, police announced Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, was charged with murder in connection to the death of Tibbetts, 20, who had been missing for more than a month before authorities discovered her body this week.

If convicted, Rivera could face life in prison, the AP reported…”Cristhian Bahena Rivera: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know“..Rivera confessed to killing Tibbetts and has been charged with first-degree murder, police said. He is a resident of rural Poweshiek County, Iowa, and has lived in the area for about four to seven years, according to police. He faces a penalty of life in prison without parole. Rivera, a 24-year-old Mexican citizen, is being held on an immigration detainer and police said they confirmed with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations that he is an “illegal alien,” DCI Special Agent Richard Rahn said at a press conference…

President Donald Trump talked about the case at a rally in West Virginia hours after Rivera’s arrest:

Iowa murder suspect lived on land owned by GOP fundraiser RYAN J. FOLEY,Associated Press 14 hours ago (8.25.18) yahoo.com“IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A top Republican fundraiser whose firm works for several prominent immigration hardliners is the partial owner of the land where the Mexican man accused of killing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts lived rent-free, a farm spokeswoman said Friday.

Nicole Schlinger has long been a key fundraiser and campaign contractor for GOP politicians in Iowa and beyond, including this cycle for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Virginia Senate candidate Corey Stewart.

Schlinger is the president of Campaign Headquarters, a call center that makes fundraising calls, identifies supporters and helps turn out voters for conservative candidates and groups. Her business is one of the largest in Brooklyn, the central Iowa town where Tibbetts disappeared while out for a run on July 18.

Schlinger is married to Eric Lang, the president of the family-owned dairy that has acknowledged providing employment and housing for the last four years to Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the man charged with murder in Tibbetts’ death.

The couple — along with her husband’s brother Craig Lang and his wife — own farmland outside Brooklyn that includes trailers where some of the dairy’s employees live for free as a benefit of their employment, farm spokeswoman Eileen Wixted confirmed.

She said Rivera lived there for the duration of his employment, and about half of the farm’s other 10 workers do so as well. Under the arrangement, the farming company pays the couples to rent the land but workers do not have to pay, she said.

In an email Friday, Schlinger said that she was “shocked and deeply saddened” by Tibbetts’ death and had never met Rivera. “The perpetrator should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, and when he meets his maker, suffer the consequences he deserves,” she wrote.

She said that she was gifted an ownership interest in the land many years ago from her husband’s family and that she has no role in the farming operation.

Still, the fact that one of its own operatives has indirect ties to the case could complicate GOP efforts to highlight the gruesome slaying in its political messaging ahead of the November midterm election. Dairy co-owner Craig Lang also was a Republican candidate for Iowa agriculture secretary, finishing third in a five-way race in the June primary.

Republicans such as President Donald Trump and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called for stricter immigration laws and enforcement almost immediately after Rivera, who is suspected of being in the country illegally, was charged Tuesday. Some have blamed Democratic policies for the slaying, even though studies have disputed the notion that those in the country illegally are more likely to commit violent crime.

“Every victim below would be alive today if we enforced our immigration laws,” U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa tweeted Friday, above a picture of Tibbetts and other victims. “Leftists sacrificed thousands, including their own, on the altar of Political Correctness.”

Schlinger’s business calls itself “the best conservative call center in America.” Her biography claims she is the most prolific fundraiser in Iowa GOP history, having brought in more than $50 million for politicians and causes. She has said her business has made millions of phone calls for candidates seeking offices ranging from president to city council since its founding in 1999. Her firm’s client list includes several politicians who routinely call for stricter immigration enforcement.

Federal Election Commission records show that Cruz’s re-election campaign has paid CampaignHQ nearly $1.7 million since the beginning of 2017. A Cruz campaign spokeswoman had no immediate comment…”

Neutral Perspective

-Stats

5 facts about illegal immigration in the U.S. pewresearch.org“..Mexicans may no longer be the majority of U.S. unauthorized immigrants. They made up half of all unauthorized immigrants in 2016, according to the Center’s preliminary estimate, marking the first time in at least a decade that they did not account for a clear majority of this population. Their numbers (and share of the total) have been declining in recent years: There were 5.6 million Mexican unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. in 2015 and 2016, down from 6.4 million in 2009.

Meanwhile, the number of unauthorized immigrants from nations other than Mexico has grown since 2009, from 5 million that year to 5.4 million in 2015. Non-Mexicans numbered 5.7 million in the preliminary 2016 estimate, a total that was not statistically different from 2015…

The U.S. civilian workforce includes 8 million unauthorized immigrants, accounting for 5% of those who were working or were unemployed and looking for work, according to separate Pew Research Center estimates. ..”Mexicans No Longer Make Up Majority Of Immigrants In U.S. Illegally April 25, 20175:41 PM ET npr.org“..Their analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data shows that last year, there were 5.6 million Mexican nationals living in the U.S. without authorization – half of the unauthorized immigrant population in 2016. Mexicans have been the majority of that population since 2005, according to the Pew report.

Although Mexicans still make up the largest group of unauthorized immigrants, numbers from Mexico have been on the decline since the Great Recession began in late 2007.

The number of unauthorized immigrants from other countries has been on the rise since the end of the recession, hitting an estimated 5.7 million in 2016. Immigrants from Central America and Asia – largely from India and China — are two of the main drivers of that growth…”

Top 10 Pro & Con Arguments immigration.procon.org
Should the Government Allow Immigrants Who Are Here Illegally to Become US Citizens?

The Great Debate: Solving the US Illegal Immigration … – YouTube

Boston University
Published on Apr 6, 2010
Can Stricter Law Enforcement at the Border and the Workplace Solve the U.S. Illegal Immigration Problem? was the topic of the College of Communication’s 24th semiannual Great Debate, argued in the affirmative by Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank in Washington, D.C., Stephanie Hoffman (LAW’10), and Louis J. Barletta, the mayor of Hazleton, Pa., where local businesses and landlords may be punished by law for giving work or shelter to illegal immigrants. The negative side was argued by B. Lindsay Lowell, the director of policy studies at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University, Anuj Shelat (SMG’08), and Shuya Ohno, the director of communications at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA).

-Crime

Is Illegal Immigration Linked to More or Less Crime? By Robert Farley Posted on June 27, 2018 factcheck.org“..President Donald Trump said it’s “not true” that immigrants in the U.S. illegally are “safer than the people that live in the country,” providing several crime statistics he claimed represented the “toll of illegal immigration.” Sen. Bernie Sanders made the opposite claim, saying: “I understand that the crime rate among undocumented people is actually lower than the general population.”

Who is right?

There are not readily available nationwide statistics on all crimes committed by immigrants in the country illegally. Researchers have provided estimates through statistical modeling or by extrapolating from smaller samples. One such study backs the president’s claim, but several others support Sanders’ statement…”

Fact Check: Do illegal immigrants commit more crimes?

MrDemented669
7 months ago
if you cross a border illegal you just broke one law so fact is that makes them all criminals.﻿

The Oregonian
Published on Oct 20, 2017
A video shared over 5,000 times on Facebook shows self-identified plainclothes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entering a Portland home and arresting a man, without getting permission to enter the home and without a warrant. ICE later released the man, identified only as Carlos

ICE agents approach Latino US citizen, mistake him for … – YouTube

The Oregonian
Published on Sep 20, 2017
An Oregon ACLU legal observer captures footage of a legal citizen being approached by ICE agents near the Washington County Courthouse in Hillsboro on Sept. 18 after they confused him for an undocumented immigrant.

“I don’t want Mollie’s memory to get lost amongst politics,” Calderwood told CNN. “It’s not about race, it’s about people joining together to do good.”

Tibbetts’ distant cousin, Sam Lucas, also spoke out on Twitter, slamming conservative activist Candace Owens for using the death to attack “illegal immigrants.”..

“Hey i’m a member of mollie’s family and we are not so f***ing small-minded that we generalize a whole population based on some bad individuals. now stop being a f***ing snake and using my cousins death as political propaganda. take her name out of your mouth,” she wrote on Twitter Tuesday.
..”

Below are some of the songs that we sung during “worship music” time at church this past Sunday (April 2nd 2017), which I had to reflect and share on how God personally spoke to me through each individual song. Feel free to share yours down below…

Sal: May this song be a prayer daily! We need more of Him throughout the week (not just on church days). “We want more” (releasing of His power to give us strength or whether for His healing power to be show to the people around you that might need it).
How does this song speak to you?

Sal: Let us bring His presence outside of the “Church” walls! ..to our families, communities, workplace, nations, etc…! After recording this and singing it again, I remembered how this particular verse took out..

“..Help up become more aware of your presence…”

I pray that we all become more aware of your presence and how God is trying to “speak” to us in our daily life circumstances.

Sal: I thought of the game of “trench” I used to play at school growing -up on how we had to use a kick ball or something soft (ball) and hit one of our opponents to get freed from the “dungeon” behind enemy lines. We as “believers” need to take an “active” role (e.g. intercessory prayer and asking God how we can “reach out” to them) like this game on “rescuing” fellow brethren who have “backslidden” from their faith.

While at #StandingRock I encountered some people sharing about some “racism” they encountered. I then share my ethnic background story. I’m Filipino-American, but there is more information behind that doesn’t really matter. Unfortunately, for some people, that information matters. What is “race”?

One lady that was “opening-up” to me during my chat at one of the camps told me she was part “native”. She kind of sadly shared that people see her outside appearance and just see “White” and automatically “pre-judge” her (e.g. prejudice). I wasn’t surprise of her story as I see similar stories like this in our everyday world.

American Indian and white, but not ‘multiracial’ By D’Vera Cohn7 comments Fact Tank – Our Lives in Numbers
June 11, 2015 pewresearch.org“…Yet the same survey shows that many of these multiracial American Indian adults have few connections with Native Americans. For example, among biracial adults who are white and American Indian, only 22% say they have a lot in common with American Indians; 61% say they have a lot in common with whites. And only 19% say they have had a lot of contact with their relatives who are American Indian.

In addition, biracial adults who are white and American Indian are among the least likely of mixed-race adults to consider themselves multiracial (only 25% do). They are among the most likely to say their multiracial background has been neither an advantage nor a disadvantage; 82% say it has not made a difference…”

I remember growing up, race wasn’t an issue in my elementary school years. It didn’t become an “issue” until my junior high/middle school years. I remember a “Caucasian” friend asked me what side will I choose during some “racial” tensions between “blacks” and “whites”.

Then in high school, I joined the “Asian Club” to hangout with friends and to add to my resume for “extra curricular activities” (looks good on college application). I remember one peer made a remark that I’ll never forget still-“You don’t even look Asian” (e.g. my eyes weren’t “slanted” enough and too big).

There is Only One “Race” – The Human Race Acts 17:24-26 bible.ca“…Racism 1 “What race are you?” How do you answer this question? We have been conditioned to answer, “Caucasian,” or “African American,” “Hispanic,” “Asian,” etc. Many think in terms of skin color, “White,” “Black,” etc.

As far as the Bible is concerned, there are many nationalities, but there is only ONE RACE! Therefore, why not answer: “The Human Race?”

Speaking to those in ancient Athens, the apostle Paul reminds us, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that God made every nation of men from “one blood.”

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings…” (Acts 17:24-26). ..”

Well, I felt bad for this lady sharing that she’s been discriminated because she looks “white” and is part “native”. I told here that I’ve been mistakenly called a bunch of different races. She told me I look “native” and I told here that I’ve been called many different races depending on my hairstyle. I told her that my great-grandfather is Spanish and they are known as the “colonizers” of the Philippines and many other countries (e.g. conquers of “natives” in the Americas), so I feel bad too! However, we shouldn’t feel bad because of our past history. She told me that we should at least “do something” to make peace or reconciliation of our “past mistakes”.

After this response, I then reflected that Jesus did this on the cross for our “past sins”. The first step as as Christian is just asking God for forgiveness of our sins and past sins of our ancestors. Then we can ask God ourselves what we can do as individuals. I think that is the reason for the many Veterans that came (see blog above).

Politics

Forget Ebola The Only Thing That Americans Have To Fear Is Republican Fear Mongering By Rmuse on Sun, Oct 26th, 2014 at 10:38 am politicususa.com“..
In America’s National Anthem, the last line in the refrain claims this country is the “land of the free and the home of the brave,” but it does not apply to a large segment of the population suffocated by irrational fear robbing them of their freedom. There are millions of brave Americans whose courage makes them truly free, but only because they have not played into the hands of cowardly Republicans who are terrified voters will notice their gross incompetence. No American is free when fear causes a change in their brain function and behavior, particularly when it induces cognitive paralysis, but that is precisely what is occurring in America. One often wonders why and when Americans became so terrified of so many innocuous things such as who someone loves, how they worship, where they came from, when a woman gives birth, the government, foreign religious wars, or an African virus; all things Republicans use to incite irrational fear and hatred for other Americans..”

Oct. 8, 2014 time.com“…Based on Facebook and Twitter chatter, it can seem like Ebola is everywhere. Following the first diagnosis of an Ebola case in the United States on Sept. 30, mentions of the virus on Twitter leapt from about 100 per minute to more than 6,000. Cautious health officials have tested potential cases in Newark, Miami Beach and Washington D.C., sparking more worry. Though the patients all tested negative, some people are still tweeting as if the disease is running rampant in these cities. In Iowa the Department of Public Health was forced to issue a statement dispelling social media rumors that Ebola had arrived in the state. Meanwhile there have been a constant stream of posts saying that Ebola can be spread through the air, water, or food, which are all inaccurate claims…”

Exposed: French Military Caught Planning ISIS False Flag Attack by IWB · September 28, 2016 investmentwatchblog.com“…Reports from France indicate that the French military have been caught red-handed in the act of preparing an ISIS false flag terror attack on it’s own citizens – and none of their excuses are making any sense.

ISIS flags, video equipment, Arabic newspapers and a generator were discovered by gardeners in a cave outside the town of Saumur – causing panic among local citizens who called the local and national police, as well as anti-terrorist units.

With scores of police and emergency personnel on the scene, a senior military figure intervened, announcing that the contents of the cave belonged to the military and were part of a mysterious, as yet unexplained “exercise.”

The scandal has added weight to the argument that most terrorist attacks are actually false flags perpetrated by security forces against their ow people, as a means of controlling and manipulating the public…”

What do you “fear” the most? What might’ve cause this fear? Any other feedback, suggestions, comments, etc.. on any of the sources stated above or not mentioned?